Local

Residents remain without homes after U-Haul crashes into apartments

Teachia Lyle has been out of her home for more than a week at Beacon Hills Apartments after a U-Haul truck slammed into her unit.

“I see the U-Haul inside the front of the building,” Lyle said. “A little bit in the back end was sticking up and they had the police out there and it was taped off.”

The walls are boarded up and a safety fence was put into place to keep residents out of their southwest Charlotte apartments.

“They said the power was out,” Lyle said. “They didn’t know if the building was stable. If the building, the foundation was stable enough and wasn’t no power for us to be in there.”

The management at the apartment complex gave Lyle $300 gift cards to find a hotel to stay in, Lyle said.

However, Lyle said that is not enough, especially for the inconvenience.

“I just feel like they’re not moving in an appropriate way to help these people that stay here and have to pay rent. Rent is not cheap,” she said.

A power box is blocked off where witnesses said the U-Haul truck crashed into it, which affected many units.

Now families are locked out of their homes until further notice.

“They changed the locks but really they’re not accommodating anybody, you know,” Lyle said.

A spokesperson for Beacon Hill released the following statement:

“Our priority is supporting our community during this frustrating disruption. We have offered a range of options to support the six affected units, including covering the costs of temporary accommodation.

“The damaged apartments have been secured because of safety concerns related to having people in damaged structures.

“Repairs may take three to four weeks, and we will continue to help impacted residents until this is fully resolved. Our team is working as quickly as it can, including seeking expedited permits for the repair work.”

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Almiya White

Almiya White, wsoctv.com

Almiya White is a reporter for WSOC-TV